HARMONY
by insynchlikeharmony
Summary: Harry and Hermione playing Scrabble one night in the tent. Seems simple enough but it turns into a trip down memory lane... and a look to the future? *Post-Ron exit*


Another day, another night without Ron. And as much as it pained Harry to say it, he couldn't complain about him being gone.

Sure, the first night wasn't easy for them, but from that night on, their moods improved, they got their schedules sorted, their plans arranged, and their food supply balanced. And in Ron's absence, Harry made sure to talk with Hermione every night to make sure he gave her more reason to stay with him on the 'wild goose chase' of a mission.

Although tonight was a little different after what unfolded the previous night…

"I just don't know after all this is over, Harry. I mean, of course I'll return to Hogwarts to finish my final year and I'm fairly sure I want to become a healer, but a big question I always ask but never can answer is who will be there for it all? I mean, first, there was Viktor a few years ago, but we're friends at most; and Cormac last year made a move but he was beyond unbearable; and so far, that's it; I thought something with Ron was about to start but then you know what happened. Maybe I'll just meet someone in a few years. I guess I'll worry about it… "

He couldn't hold in what had been bubbling up since she posed 'who will be there for it all?' "Well, what about me?" he asked. She sat stoic, unaware if he was being serious or just making conversation.

"I'm not sure, Harry. The girls you've been with are more sporty and less about books." She answered truthfully.

Harry merely frowned, "Well, Hermione, maybe that's why they haven't worked out so far; because I need someone who cares for the true me rather than the boy who lived." She saw his eyes glint a brighter green; a hopeful look.

"It's getting late, Harry. You should get some sleep and I'll take watch." Before he could get out another word, she was racing full-speed toward the flap and left a stunned Harry sitting at the table, unsure of what just happened…

In retrospect, maybe he shouldn't have been so forward and blurted out his name as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. But really, the way they hang out; is it really that much of a shock to think something could happen between them? Rather than dwell on it, he found that fixing whatever was going on between them would be the best thing to concentrate on doing. He got up and started across the room. He reached Hermione's beaded bag and began searching for anything that could be fun. He started laughing at his last thought as he pulled out book upon book.

"What's so funny, Harry?"

Happy to hear her voice again, he replied, "Well, I thought we would switch it up tonight from just our usual talking." Her face looked relieved at hearing his plan.

"What did you have in mind then?" She asked legitimately.

"I'll let you know when I…" He hit a cardboard box and pulled it out from the bottomless bag. "How could Scrabble be in your bag?"

"Oh, Ron must've taken it from Mr. Weasley. He has quite the collection of muggle board games. What do you do in Scrabble?"

"This is the perfect game for you, Mione." Her face shone a bright pink after that. "Basically you pick tiles with letters A-Z on them, form words, and each tile is worth a certain number of points. And there are special squares that double or triple your letters/words. The person with the most points wins."

"That does sound fun!" She exclaimed. When Harry gave her one of his 'Hermione, the bookworm' expressions, she punched him lightly on his shoulder. "So are we going to play?"

"I'll get it ready!" Setting up the board and pulling out the bag of tiles, he had a thought to make it even better.

"Hey Hermione, let's make this even more fun. Rather than draw 7 tiles at a time, let's just split up the bag between us. And instead of just random words, let's pick our favorite moment going back to our first year."

She started scooping up her pieces,"Alright, who gets first year?" He flashed her a smile and collected the remaining tiles.

"Ladies first." Looking over her tiles she found the perfect word. Placing them on the board, Harry read it aloud.

"Train."

"Yep, the day I met you… and Ron. Not to mention I got sorted in Gryffindor." She explained. "That's a good choice. I would have chosen that as well! 6 points for train." She smiled at his agreement.

"My turn. Hmm, second year…" He slid his tiles above the 'n' in 'train'.

"Potion." Hermione said.

"Uh huh; for the polyjuice potion that turned you into a cat and the mandrake potion that unpetrified you."

"Aww, you would choose one of my most embarrassing moments as your favorite moment." She stated dryly.

"Hey! That was funny and you know it! Plus, I included when you came running through the Great Hall towards me… and Ron." He immediately thought back to that day when her bushy-haired figure was sprinting towards him, desperate to hold her friend she had been without for so long.

"So that's 6 points for you too, right?" He returned to reality and found her caramel eyes locked on his green orbs.

"Uhm, yep, that's 6."

She brushed off his dazed look to think of her next word. After a minute or two, she began building a word off of the 'a' in 'train'.

"Beaky… aw, saving Buckbeak was your favorite moment of third year?"

"Well, actually I put 'beaky' down because my favorite part was going back with you and saving both Buckbeak and Sirius." Harry smiled at remembering the time they spent together that day. "Oh, and because that day I got over my fear of flying, thanks to you." She finished with a chuckle.

Rather than hold up the game any further, Harry gave Hermione her 24 points ("Woo! Two triple letter scores!") and mulled over his letters. After a few moments, he started placing letters to the right of the 'p' in 'potion'.

"Platform… wait, saying goodbye to us was your favorite moment of fourth year?!" Harry gave her a wry smile in response. "Well, I chose that moment not only because Moody told off Uncle Vernon and I gave Fred & George the gallons to start Weasley Wizard Wheezes, but if I recall, I got my first kiss then." Her jaw had hit the floor.

"But Cho was your first real kiss, Harry." She reasoned.

"But yours was the only one that mattered, Hermione."

She didn't know what pulled her towards him, but before she could stop it, her lips were on his. And her tongue grazed his upper lip, hoping it would separate from the bottom. Harry, going along with the situation at hand, parted his lips and met her tongue somewhere in the middle and took in her taste. He never knew something could taste so sweet. This was heaven. And it didn't escape his notice. All the blood not circulating in his face was being directed lower and he was indeed throbbing.

He broke apart, not wanting to be so animalistic as to fuck on the game board they were actually having fun with. Harry simply stared at Hermione, searching for a reason why she would do that right then.

"…Did it matter more than that one?" she inquired. His eyes never strayed from hers. Unsure of how to respond, he said whatever came to mind.

"You have… the best kisses. That last one will be hard to top!" He said truthfully. He brought his attention back to the board; "32 points! Thanks double word score!"

Hermione simply shook her head, hoping her face would cool as she thought of her next word. Her face lit up as she thought of the perfect word. She was using the 'o' from 'platform'. "Ooh, Hogsmeade. Nice choice. But why not getting your prefect badge?" Harry asked.

"Because you didn't get one, Harry. Being a prefect with Ron was awful. He always patrolled the kitchen so I had a bunch of lonely shifts." Harry's face had regret etched all over it.

"You should have got me during your shifts, Hermione. I would have kept you…"

"No, Harry, I didn't feel as if hanging with me a few more hours out of your day was on your list of priorities, what with homework and occlumency and everything else." His face reflected understanding, although he still felt he could have done something.

"Why Hogsmeade then?"

"_'But I don't think you're ugly.'_" Harry nodded his head, in realization that he said that 2 short years ago. He was about to open his mouth when she began, "It was the first time someone made me feel like a girl. An actual girl. One with good looks, although I don't see it…"

He stopped her right there, "You're beautiful, Hermione. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He grasped her hand and gave it a firm squeeze before returning to the score sheet to give Hermione her 38 points.

"Damn double word score." Harry muttered. Hermione laughed at this before saying, "Okay. Sixth year. You're up."

It took him no time flat to choose his word and he was placing it to the left of the 'y' in 'Beaky'.

"Balcony."

It only took Hermione a few seconds to realize what Harry was referring to. She remembered that day all too well. Ron had come through as keeper for the team and he thought snogging Lavender in front of the common room was a good reward for himself. Hermione didn't know how to handle her feelings at the time and ran as fast as she could away from the display. She finally came to a stop at an abandoned stairwell overlooking the grounds. She sat down on the closest step, cursing herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. Before she could assess her feelings, or lack of, over Ron and his accompanying insensitivity, a figure sat down next to her and was draping a supportive arm around her. She didn't even have to lift her head to know who it was. That didn't stop her though. She was staring into his familiar eyes until he moved forward to plant a kiss on the side of her head.

"We're kind of friends, huh?" He didn't know what prompted him to say that but apparently it was the right thing to say. She threw her arms around either side of his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder before whispering, "You're my best friend, Harry."

She snapped back to the present with Harry confirming why that was his favorite moment.

"That was the day where you thought of me as your best friend; not Ron, not Ginny, but me. I just did what any normal person would do and you made my day." He finished with a smile. She matched his smile before having it vanish as quickly as it came.

"But what about dating Ginny?" she questioned.

He held back his laugh before answering, "Honestly, that would be one of the lowlights of last year. Considering I no longer have feelings for her, it most likely was the effect of a love potion."

She would have loved to have a look of shock on her face, but doing something as heartless as that seemed right in Ginny's wheelhouse. "Well, there plenty of people who love you for who you are, Harry. Don't settle for a fangirl infatuated with your namesake." And just as he did minutes ago with her, she reached for his hand and held it in hers while giving him a friendly smile.

"And after all that, I get 16 points. Yay me." Harry said sarcastically. Hermione attempted to stifle her laugh but eased into it as Harry joined in. After having a good laugh, Hermione asked, "So is that it? Since we're up to this year?"

"You can still choose something from the past few months." She grinned knowing that he wanted the game to go as long as possible. There was only one word that deserved favorite moment for this year. She started working off of the 'a' in 'balcony'. As soon as she placed the first letter, he knew what word she was going for.

"Dance".

Little did Harry know how much a simple dance would mean to her, but secretly, that dance from a few nights ago was Hermione's favorite out of all the previous ones, just because it shows Harry's selflessness even in situations that don't require it.

"You know, that dance surprised me as much as it surprised you." She laughed at his admission.

"Really? What was your reason behind doing it then? I mean, most people don't go outside their comfort zone if they don't absolutely have to."

"That's the thing, Hermione. I absolutely had to see you smile! Even if it was just for a few seconds. I hated seeing you mope around day after day and I had to try something, anything. Then that song came on and I figured making a fool out of myself dancing might do the trick. And it did." He gave her an accomplished smile while waiting for her thoughts.

"I was beyond sad… but not for the reasons you think." This last bit peaked his interest.

"And what reasons would those be?"

She cleared her throat to explain. "You think I was sad because Ron abandoned me and a potential relationship, correct?" She eyed him expectantly. His eyes bulged a little at her choice of wording, but ultimately, he nodded. "Well, the real reason is because he abandoned US. His two, truest friends of six years. Just up and leaves us both when things aren't going as expected. And to make matters worse, he forced that ultimatum on me when he knew my answer before he asked it."

Harry held up his hand to stop her. "Sorry, that's just something I've been wondering since it happened. Why did you stay? I mean, not that I don't appreciate your decision, it's just staying with me is essentially a suicide mission whereas going off with Ron could be a great time planning your future."

Hermione's face had a hint of disapproval as well as annoyance. "Honestly, Harry, I thought you were a better listener than that. I essentially just said I'd choose you over Ron in any scenario; you're in every future I envision; so why would you ever think I'd want to have a future with my second choice?"

Harry sat in silence, once again pondering her choice of wording, before eventually saying, "I don't know."

"I don't either. But then, after what you asked me last night, I did some thinking. I had to get out of that tent and get some air. During my shift I kept asking 'why not you?' and the thing that always stood in the way was Ginny and Ron's pride. After you got Ginny last year, I figured that was it; you two would be happily together and Ron and I the same. So I waited for Ron… and what happens? He decides it's a good idea to stick his tongue down Lavender's throat. After that, I couldn't look at him the same ever again. So went my compassion for Ron's pride. You were still stuck on Ginny however. So I never thought of actually being with you; it seemed like a fantasy. But it came true last night when you asked me that and told me you wanted someone who loved you for you. It meant you've considered us being together."

Harry was nodding his head vigorously at this last statement. "When I go to bed at night and think about a future beyond this war, your face is the only one I see." They sat in momentary silence before Hermione broke it.

"So, that's 11 points. And we're up to this year. Is the game over now?" He smiled at her attempt to change topic.

"Uhm, yeah. I suppose it is. Although I want to play one more word…" She looked at him curiously but told him to go on. He added on to 'dance' to make it 'dancer' and she stared at his new word in awe.

"Ring."

She looked at him in disbelief.

"Is this what I think it's about?" she asked hesitantly, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"Well, yes and no. This game we just played discussed our past. And shockingly, all our moments revolved around each other in some way. In fact your word for this year just happened a few nights ago, revolving around our present. I figured to make this go full circle, I should bring up our future."

Her breathing was shallow, waiting for what he had to say next. He brought his hand up to the bag dangling from his neck and loosened the knot. Reaching inside he pulled out a box; a simple black one. Hermione never took her eyes off of it. She knew what kind of box it was and she knew what was held within.

"This is one of the last things I have to remember her… besides my eyes, of course." He blinked a few times to impact his last statement. "But yes, this is her wedding ring that my dad gave her all those years ago."

He opened the box to reveal the marvel within. He took it between his fingers to twirl it a couple times to show every angle. Hermione had never seen a ring that was as simple as that one, yet so elegant. She found it matched Harry's personality to a t. "Anyway, last night may have been the first night I voiced my question to you, but that question has been running through my head for years now. And to answer my own question, I always told myself 'because she had Ron and I had Ginny'."

Hermione scrunched up her nose in disgust at his phrasing as well as how he thought it would play out. Harry caught sight of this and chuckled lightly because his expression would have been something similar had she said what he did. "Yes, I was quite delusional, wasn't I? I didn't count on Ron being a jackass nor on Ginny being a manipulative bitch, how silly of me."

She was now bursting at the sides of his accurate depiction of the younger Weasleys.

"Five minutes ago, you asked me 'is this what I think it's about?'; well, what do you think this is all about?"

Her blush from earlier had returned full-force, "Oh, well, how about I tell you after you tell me what you meant by 'yes and no'."

He flashed the same smile he had earlier. "Ladies first."

She gave a sigh before continuing. "Well, a ring can only mean one thing." She state matter-of-factly. He wanted her to say it aloud.

"And that one thing is…"

Hermione kept with the scrabble theme and chose one word:

"Marriage."

He got chills at hearing her say it, but held his poker face. "…Or at least marriage sometime in the near future." She clarified. He couldn't have verbalized it any better.

"Precisely. It may have taken me some time to figure it out, but I finally have. Through everything, you've always had faith in me. In the end, we're always there for each other. You're the brightest witch I've ever known, not mention strongest. And the cherry on the top of it all, you're stunning. Every part of you that you think is plain or boring are the parts that I love most about you."

By this point, Hermione was only breathing when absolutely necessary to ensure she heard everything clearly.

"Your bushy hair that I always imagine running my hands through just to have that vanilla scent even when you're not by me; your chocolate eyes, the only things that can pull me away from what you're saying; your cute, button nose that pulls the rest of your face together; your juicy, pink lips, whose taste had eluded me all these years until moments ago. And I can say with certainty it was the best kiss I've ever had. I'm hoping I can experience that for years to come."

Hermione now had tears forming in her eyes, never hearing her features described in such a manner. "Wow. I can't believe there was a time when I said you were 'a bit tactless'. I never thought much about my looks, besides the negatives. You're not bad yourself, Harry. With your perpetually-messy black hair; your piercing, green eyes that halt all thought processes; and how can you forget your quidditch-toned abs?"

Now it was his turn to be flattered. "Oh stop! I'm not that big of a deal."

He winked at her. She got to her feet, "As much as I love when your sarcasm makes a rare appearance, I'd love to get to the bottom of this yes/no answer".

He stood as well. "Fair enough. I said yes because I would love to get married. However, I said no because I don't want to until after all this Voldemort shit is over."

She agreed with his logic, but she still had one question staring her in the face. "What's the point of the ring now then, Harry?"

A charge had filled the surrounding air with her question. Any trace of humor that was there evaporated with the tone of her voice.

He cleared his throat for good measure before saying, "I know I want to get married. But I don't want to miss out on you in case Ron comes back and thinks he can win you over again." He knelt down in front of her, never leaving her brown orbs. "Hermione Jean Granger, will you marry me… after this war is over?"

She clapped a hand to her mouth, tears freely flowing down her face. "Oh, Harry… yes, yes, yes!" She bent down and brought his face to hers, kissing him for the second time in the past hour. She rested her forehead on his, waiting for the silence to be broken.

"So, technically, that's 10 more points for me." Hermione's lip curled into a smile.

"Whatever you say, doll." Harry smiled at his newfound pet name.

"Okay, so final score is 79-64, of course you won. Beginner's luck."

She didn't appreciate the last comment but really was too happy to let anything get her down. It hadn't quite hit her that in mere months she could call themselves Mr. and Mrs. Potter. They would defeat Voldemort so they could get their future they always dreamed of. One with their own house, their own kids, their own room.

Speaking of their own room, "Hey Harry, I've got another word to play." He looked at her as if she didn't understand the words "game over" or "you won." She only had 2 letters and she placed them in front of the 'd' in 'Hogsmeade'. "Red? Bed? Led?" He wasn't sure considering the first letter was blank, so he just said anything that sounded legit.

"Bed?!" Are you asking me what I think you are?" He exclaimed. Her face looked as mischievous as ever.

"Only if you want to. I mean, you're the only guy I would ever want to have sex with." She said nonchalantly. He walked up to her and threw his arms around her frame.

"You're the only girl I would ever want to make love to." He said, putting her at ease. He backed up and asked "you know the spell, then?"

She gave him an exasperated look before saying "Oh honestly, would I ask you that if I didn't know the spell?"

He gave a half-laugh at this before saying, "Alright, alright! Just making sure you don't want any litter Potters running around until after the war."

THUMP.

In his attempt to run to their bedroom, he hit his knee on the table with the scrabble board, sending pieces flying off the board.

"Serves you right, Harry Potter. Assuming something like that."

She was following him to the bedroom when she had a quick glance down at the scattered pieces on the game and noticed the word 'HARMONY' among the tiles. Shaking it off as a happy coincidence, she made her way to her room to give Harry the tour of her sleeping area, complete with enchanted door, before 'going to bed'.

Before she closed the door, she took one last look out at the area and made sure it all sunk in; where they danced just days prior; where they shared their first 'real' kiss; where she agreed to eventually become Mrs. Potter; and where they agreed they would take each others' virginity.

With one last smile, she let the door click shut.


End file.
